The present invention relates to automotive vehicles and more particularly, automotive vehicles such as vans or light trucks, which provide a cargo bed in addition to a passenger compartment.
In the most recent two decades, popularity for vans and light trucks has increased among the motoring public. Many vans (including minivans) and light trucks typically have an elevated seating position for a vehicle operator. Many vehicle operators have found this elevated position to be preferable.
Most vans provide an advantage of a more spacious passenger compartment than that of conventional cars. Pickup trucks provide an advantage over most cars since they have a cargo bed that can be used to move bulky loads such as home furnishings, home appliances and construction materials.
To provide the advantages of a van and that of a truck into a single vehicle, several automotive vehicles have been brought forth. An example is the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac(copyright), which is equipped with two rows of passenger seating and a pickup bed. However the bed is somewhat smaller than a normal pickup truck bed. Even the larger two row passenger seating compartment 2002 Lincoln Blackwood(trademark) has a smaller bed than a conventional full size standard cab pickup truck.
It is desirable to provide a vehicle with two rows of passenger seating in the passenger compartment which additionally has a cargo bed able to accommodate extension ladders or other long building materials such as plywood, particle board, or plaster board which typically come in four by eight foot sheets.
It is desirable to provide the same cargo carrying capacity without extending the overall length of the vehicle beyond that normally provided in most sport-utility vehicles or pickup truck type vehicles.
A practitioner of the art enlightened by the present invention is set free to provide an automotive vehicle arrangement having an advantage of a van, including a passenger compartment with two rows of seating. The inventive vehicle arrangement also has the advantage of a pickup truck having a capacity for carrying elongated articles such as ladders and/or building materials.
In a preferred embodiment the vehicle arrangement of the present invention has a front engine enclosed by an engine compartment. A passenger compartment is provided rearward of the engine compartment. The passenger compartment has front and rear passenger seating typically provided along a common floor platform. A cargo bed is additionally provided, generally continuous with the common floor platform. A door separates the passenger compartment from the remainder of the cargo bed.
The door has a vertical axis hinge arrangement allowing the door to be latched or pivoted about points adjacent its two lateral extreme ends. Accordingly, the door can be opened from either side. Along the lower end of the door is a panel with a horizontal hinge axis. Opening the panel allows a portion of the passenger compartment in collaboration with the cargo bed to accommodate elongated articles which previously could not be accommodated in prior van or van-type vehicles having a full length two row passenger seating compartment with a regular non-extended cargo bed. The overall length of the vehicle arrangement can be held to a length typically associated with a minivan.
It is an advantage of the vehicle arrangement of the present invention to provide a vehicle having front and rear row passenger seating and an enclosed cab which can additionally provide a cargo bed to accommodate elongated materials without overly extending an overall length of the vehicle.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of preferred embodiments which refer to the accompanying drawings and detailed description.